The Watch
by Beetlebridge
Summary: Set between Election Day part 2 and Requiem. President Bartlet, Josh L, and Malory sit on AF1 and discuss history and the future.
1. Chapter 1

_My first WW Fic, and my first fic on , so be kind…_

_Usual disclaimers… this has been bouncing around in my head for a while, and I've worked on a couple of drafts before settling on this version._

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**Wednesday November 8, 2006.**

Here I am, Josh Lyman, sitting once again on Airforce 1, it's been almost a year since I've had this privilege, but I can't think about this now. I cannot fathom what I should be doing, or why I'm here. I should be back in Houston, helping the President-elect and the other staff deal with the aftermath of yesterday.

There's so much to do, so much to plan, and so much that needs to be said to so many people. I'm not certain I can handle the responsibility of it all. I'm at fault for what happened yesterday, how on Earth am I supposed to fix this. Again and again the phrase rings in my head: The King is dead; long live the King. I need to try and find a replacement VP, but all I can think of is how much we have lost with Leo gone.

Malory came to sit next to me ten minutes ago, I thought she wanted to talk but she hasn't said a word since. Five minutes ago I reached out and put my arm across her shoulders, letting her know it was OK, and that I was here for her. In truth, I blame myself for all the hurt I have put her through, I just don't know what to say.

"What am I doing here, Mal? The President came up to me and asked me specially to come on this flight. Yet, for all I've seen of him, I might as well be back in the Houston doing something useful."

"I asked him to invite you aboard, Josh. He asked if there was anything he could do for me, and I really needed to speak with you."

"I'm so sorry, Mal. It was all my fault, I killed him. I can't believe you'd even want to look at me right now, let alone speak with me."

"It's not your fault, Llama-head, and you know it."

I turn to look her, surprise beaming off my face more than anything. Nobody has called me Llama-head since Joanie's funeral… in fact, the last time that phrase was uttered came out of Mal in almost exactly the same tone.

"Mallomar, why would you say that?" If inflammatory childhood nicknames is what she wants, then two can play at that game.

"Because, J-Bear, I remember exactly when I last called you "Llama-head", and I remember you telling me angrily that only your sister called you that. I wanted to remind you that, for all intensive purposes, I am your sister." She paused for a jagged breath, before continuing in a calmer voice. "J-Bear, you and I are all we have left, from the old days, I always thought of you as a brother, and my father always thought of you as his son."

"I'm thinking of giving it all up, Mighty-Mouse." (She's slipped to using a more comfortable nickname, one that Joanie never used, so I will too). "I can't let my ambitions and arrogance hurt any more people. Maybe I could teach, or write a novel, or something, anything other than politics."

"Where's this coming from, Jaguar? Forgetting the fact that you'd make a terrible teacher, we both know you don't have the patience, and that we both know Donna and others have been doing all your writing for the past 8 years. However, the fact is that you've wanted nothing else except politics since you first ran for class president back in elementary school. I remember when my dad told me how you saw some kid getting bullied, and ran on a platform to make the school integrate a better anti-bullying program."

"And lost to the kid who promised to buy anyone who voted for him candy, and beat his any supporters of his opponent to a pulp. The bully became class president, the bullying got worse when it was institutionalized by the jock who could grant favors to his friends at will. Yet another example of why I should quit politics, every time I try to get involved someone gets hurt."

"You've had a lot of success over the past 8 years, J, and you have a further 8 more ahead of you to do more good than you can even imagine right now."

"First of all, if we weren't on a plane I'd ask you to go outside spin around three times and spit. We've got four years with an option, not eight. But more importantly those were President Bartlet's successes. Want to know what I've achieved in the past 8 years? Let's see, for a start I left my father on his deathbed to be with Bartlet_; _I encouraged Charlie to go out with Zoe, only to have Neo-Nazis attempt to gun us all down (causing a constitutional crisis whilst I was at it); I sent Donna to Gaza to be blown up, which later resulted in the deaths of our own soldiers who were sent there on my suggestion in order to keep the peace; and last but not least, I urged your father to run in a presidential campaign, despite knowing he had a serious heart condition and a history of addiction."

"Llama-Head, I repeat that none of those things were your fault. Well, except for your secret plan to fight inflation." She paused again, before pressing a small leather box into my hands. "As Dad would have said were he here, you've done good kid. He wanted you to have this."

I think I know what's in the box, but I can't bring myself to open it yet.

"Mighty-Mouse, I really don't know what to say. But truth be told, we wouldn't be sitting here, talking like this, if it weren't for my foolish pride. I was too arrogant in thinking that I could be of any use in changing the world. If I hadn't mentioned it in passing, Santos wouldn't have asked your father to be his running mate. He asked me what sort of person he should be looking for in a VP, and I mentioned to him how I actually wanted your father to take over from Hoynes all those years ago, not Russell. Your father's sense of duty to his fellow man and to the country is what we desperately lacked during that crisis when all we could see were Republicans again vying for what they could get out of Zoe's kidnapping. I couldn't think of anyone I admired more or who carried with him the unifying grace and gravitas that the country needed in order to move forward."

She just looked at me, her eyes swelling with pride at the way I just described her father, the man I admired second only to my own. I must clarify "But, Mighty-Mouse, that was before… It was before Gaza and the peace-talks, before the heart attack, and before the bypass surgery. I should have known that he wasn't up to it. I should have tried harder to find anyone else in order to spare your father from the stress of this campaign."

"There was no-one else, J, you know that. I may strive to stay away from the political arena, but it's one I grew up in and so I could clearly see how the other candidates were muddied and bruised from the gauntlet of the primaries. You were right, in that you needed a unifying figure to unite the party. Dad said as much to me in the opening of the campaign. He understood why he was chosen, and he took the responsibility of VP extremely seriously. He would never have accepted the nomination if he had thought he couldn't handle it."

"But it was me who actually asked him to run. I could have talked sense into him about his health issues; I could have acted as messenger but relayed my concerns for his health at the same time. I've known him since time immemorial, I should have done more to protect him."

"Josh, Dad worked his whole life trying to save the world. Do you think he would have turned the offer down for any reason at all? Let alone his health? Believe me, I tried to coax him out of it myself using this same argument, and if he wouldn't listen to me about that exact issue, what makes you think that you would have been able to convince him? There's probably only one person on this planet who may have convinced him not to run, don't flatter yourself because it wasn't you. The man in question is on this flight, but as it turns out he was also a prime factor in convincing Dad to run in the first place."

"Even so, I should have watched over him better. I should have made sure he was dealing with the stress. I could have called for an ambulance sooner, or…"

"Or what? Seriously Geronimo, you couldn't have done anything yesterday. I was with him most of the day; he seemed not too bad (granted it was Dad on election day). Meanwhile, you were running around like a headless chook, so if you had been sitting with him he'd probably just have kicked you out or slapped you in the face. Or worse, your pent up anxiety would have exacerbated Dad's stress if you were in the vicinity of him yesterday."

"So I exacerbated his stress. I knew it was my fault. I'm so sorry. I'm so, so, sorry. How could you ever forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive. You were doing what you had to do, Llama-head. He was doing what he loved, and he knew what that entailed. He also knew your job better than you did, and he knew you were where you needed to be."

I'm speechless at this point. There's nothing more I can say to convince her of my sincere sorrow and regrets.

"He loved you like a son, you know that right? After the first heart attack, he made me promise I'd give you that (she points to the box) if ever…. Actually, this item is specifically given to you in his will, but I thought you needed the reassurance that maybe this could bring you. You're the closest thing I'll ever have to a brother, and nothing will ever come between us, and of course none of this is your fault."

All I can do is to look at the box. She's not wrapped it; it's just a plain black leather jewelry box. I drag my sleeve across my face before bringing both hands together around the object. Slowly I peak inside and my suspicions are confirmed.

Within the box lies Leo's prized possession, a platinum Rolex watch. I take it out and look carefully for the first time at an object that I've known all my life. I remember as a kid, how he showed me the correct means to wind it up, explaining to me how the finest quality objects weren't always fancy electronics, but those which had had the most care and the finest craftsmanship that went into their manufacture. It reminds me of how carefully he selected the fine pen he gave Zoe for her graduation, and the briefcase he gave me for mine (which lies in the back of my closet because it is too good to use, not because I'm ungrateful).

On closer inspection I notice the back is engraved

_**29-Apr-1945**_

_**He who saves one life saves the entire world**_

I recognize precisely the origin of the quote. It's a condensed version of a line from the Talmud. But it's not only from Hebrew school that I recognize this phrase. I remove my own watch (which I inherited from my father eight and a half years ago) and compare the identical inscriptions. Even the date that is inscribed is identical. I know the history of my father's watch, my grandfather gave it to him when he graduated law school, but my father never explained the significance of that date. My father was born in 1948, and his parents were married a year earlier in '47, however that date is a very meaningful date within my family. It represented freedom, salvation, and hope. Why would Leo of all people have the same date AND the same quotation inscribed? The coincidence of the two inscriptions bugs me.

"What does this date mean to you, Mighty-Mouse? I thought I knew what it meant to my father, I knew they were friends but my father received this watch well before he met Leo, and now I'm baffled."

A new voice calls over our shoulders "I know the significance, of the inscriptions, and the date that's engraved as well."

"Mr. President" we chorused, and instinctively tried to stand up but I was comically prevented from doing so as I was held in place by my seatbelt.

The President, to his credit, managed to stifle a laugh as Malory reached down to pick up both watches that I had just dropped. "Please, Josh, Malory, would both of you like to join me in my study. I want to explain these watches, and a whole lot more."

I struggle to unbuckle the wretched constraints, and eventually Malory has to do it for me. When I finally stand up, I look at the President for the first time since Houston. His eyes are red and puffy. Now I feel guilty for being selfish in expecting this great man to have given me the time of day, let alone have a heart-to-heart discussion the day after he lost his best friend.

"I'm so sorry Mr. President…" I tried to stammer but he cuts me off.

"No more apologies Joshua. I think we all need a little distraction right now, so I'm going to tell you a story about two civil rights lawyers (one of whom had just joined the air force and was about to journey towards his first tour of duty), and how they both taught a humble academic that by saving one life he could save the entire world."

**TBC**

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**Notes:**

**The story continues immediately on from this, but I felt this was a natural place for a break.**


	2. Chapter 2: Rainbows follow stormy skies

The Watch – Part 2: Rainbows

Notes:

The background behind the characters is not exactly cannon for the WW, but it's also not that different that I would consider this an AU.

Some historical references and notes will be provided post-script.

_If you missed the first chapter of my story, it starts with Josh on AF1, lamenting to Malory how he blamed Leo's death upon himself. Malory gives Josh Leo's watch, which is engraved with the same inscription as the watch Josh inherited from his father 8 years ago. President Bartlet comes out of reclusion and offers to explain the origin of the inscription, which read:_

_**29-Apr-1945**_

_**He who saves one life saves the entire world**_

Our story reopens in the president's private cabin within AF1, with President Bartlet telling this story. So without further ado, please enjoy:

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"I'm not sure where to begin. However, I'll start in 1970, when I first met Leo. My father served out the Second World War in the 42nd Infantry Division. It turns out, Leo's father also served in that same division, and on April 29, 1970, both of our fathers dragged us across the country to the 25th anniversary of something that I'm sure haunted both of them till the day that they died. Josh, do you know what that anniversary marked?"

"Well, Sir, it marked freedom, salvation, and hope. At least, that's what it meant to my grandfather and to the 30,000 Jews and other prisoners in Dachau concentration camp. That was the date that, as my grandfather put it, '_a rainbow came to rescue them from hell_'."

"Did you know that the 42nd Infantry was known as the "Rainbow Division" because it was assembled from a cross section of the National Guard from across 26 states (including many different skin colours and faiths amongst its rank and file). On April 29, 1945, the 42nd liberated the Dachau camp."*

"I always thought it was a simple euphemism referring to the use of the rainbow as a covenant between God and his people, a promise that no man would ever suffer like that again. I was told that my father was named Noah in honour of this covenant, but I had no idea that this is what my father was referring to."

"Yes well, the poetic symbolism may be a coincidence, or it may be fate, depending on your point of view. Again, depending on your point of view, it was either a coincidence or fate that our fathers (who had known each other since 1942) introduced us then and there, on that date.

"After chatting for a while, Leo and I sat down together to listen to the speakers. First came a lengthy description of the horrors as experienced by a survivor. Then came a lengthy description from a doctor within the unit, describing the steps they took to help the poor suffering victims. I remember commenting to Leo that there seemed to be a lack of discussion relating to what happened to the SS guards, but Leo shushed me because a friend of his was going to speak and he wanted to listen. I guess I'm glad that that issue was glossed over because the final speaker was a young lawyer, named Noah Lyman, who blew my mind away."

I guess to the President, I must look like a child now, waiting eagerly to hear what he has to say. The truth is he always had my attention, as soon as I recognised the date. I'm mesmerised, and just nod indicating I wanted him to go on.

"It was controversial at the time. I remember my father complained about the speaker's lack of respect towards those countrymen to whom he owed his life. But I also remember the speaker stating clearly in his opening address that he honoured those same men and was doing all he could to fight for their freedom in the same way that they had fought for his."

"Surely, J-Bear here didn't get his oratory skills from his father, then. What did Mr Lyman say that made you so captivated by him?" Malory knew a little of my family history, but not everything. I let the dig-in-my-ribs slide by when I looked and saw she was equally enthralled in what the President was saying.

"Noah gave a brief history of what his father had witnessed. He started with what may seem to be lesser injustices that he faced in pre-war Poland.

**_TBC in part 3_**

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**Historical notes:**

1- US Holocaust Memorial Museum - and the Centre of Military History have recognized 36 US Army divisions for their roles in liberating prisoners from Nazi rule. I chose to highlight the 42nd Infantry Division, as it is known as the "Rainbow" Division, reflecting the composition of the division being drawn from the National Guards across 26 States (and DC). The Division's nickname reflects the original composition when it was formed for WW1, and it remained as a nickname in WW2.

On April 29, 1945, the 42nd Infantry Division entered the Dachau concentration camp. Debate exists as to which division entered Dachau first (either the 42nd or 45th Infantry divisions), but for simplicity I left this out of my story. I liked the symbolism of the "rainbow" for my story, and the cross section of America that the division was made up of provided a useful bridge to join the McGary and Bartlet families.

In S1Ep18 it mentions Josh's grandfather was in Birkenau. For my story I changed this to Dachau because Dachau was liberated by US forces, whereas Birkenau was liberated by the Soviets. However, this is not necessarily against cannon because over 8000 prisoners were marched from Birkenau to Dachau in the closing days of the war so it's technically possible he could have been in both camps.

I didn't think that this story was suited to lengthy descriptions of either the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps or the brutality of the racial history within the USA. It was not glossed over for political or ideological reasons, but for a literary one.


	3. Chapter 3: It's your turn

Continuation from The Watch Part-2-

This chapter starts in a flash-back style, with the speech given by a youngish Noah Lyman (Josh's father) to the reunion of the 42nd Infantry division.

Before you hassle me for glossing over gruesome historical details, I myself have family who were Polish Jews, some of whom perished in the Nazi camps. It was a conscious decision to be light on details here and was not because I am ignorant of them.

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_Despite topping his class in high school, Jews were not allowed into higher education no matter how much money you had. Jews were also limited in their abilities to enter many other occupations, so that even if you had the money to go and study abroad, when (or if) you returned to Poland you weren't allowed to enter the professions for which you had trained. You couldn't live where you wanted, work where you wanted, or marry who you wanted._

_Jews weren't considered citizens, so couldn't vote to overturn these laws. The hatred of the Jewish people did not begin with the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party. Nor did it begin with the collapse of the economy during the Great Depression. The hatred they experienced went back centuries, and so every new law that was passed in the beginning of the war went by almost unnoticed."_

_The Jews were used to such exclusions, and had grown up with the hatred and the restrictions placed upon them. Those that did fight back were quickly punished for breaking the laws, so many of those who did not have the means to leave felt that their best bet was to be obedient and maybe they will be left in peace._

_Like a frog being boiled alive, they had no choice but to comply. Following orders until the point that they were marching to their deaths, too weak to run and save themselves._

_The conditions were deplorable. Unspeakable. Fourteen men were crammed into a cell that was built to house one man and a guest, they shared a single bunk and took turns sitting. Men, who were clean before they arrived, had no toilet facilities so they had no choice but to relieve themselves in their pants while standing._

_I have heard many stories from my father about the conditions he suffered under. However, the men that I talk of were not in Germany, or Poland, but in Alabama. I witnessed these conditions myself, when I volunteered to defend these men in court. Men who's only "crime" was to drink from the wrong drinking fountain or wait on the wrong bench._

_We have since passed the Civil Rights Act. Americans fought tooth and nail to desegregate the schools, public transportation, and housing. However, racial segregation in prisons is still practiced. Racially motivated crimes are still committed. Men and women are suffering every day because of generational hatred that goes back so far nobody really knows when it started._

_I have been told that the race issue in America is not my fight. I have had my loyalty to this country questioned whenever I point out an injustice occurring on these shores. But let me tell you a story._

_A man was walking down the street when he fell into a hole. He cried out for help, when along comes a doctor. "Help me, please, I've fallen and can't get out" he cried. The doctor throws down some bandages and alcohol for the man's wounds, before walking away. Along came a priest, "Help me, please, I've fallen and can't get out" he cried. The priest knelt down and prayed with the man, got up and walked away. The man was getting desperate, when along came his friend. "Please, help me, I'm desperate" he cried. When the friend jumped down and landed in the whole beside him. "What in God's name are you doing, now we're both stuck down here." "Yes, but I've been here before and I know the way out."_

_I will always be eternally grateful to this country for saving my father from hell, and providing me with life, liberty, and the opportunities that I never would have had as a Jewish boy in pre-war Europe. Let alone the horrors that you rescued my father from. However, I will never be content to sit idly by and watch while my brothers are dying in the streets. We need to band together and continue to work towards our dream. Never to sit on our laurels, but look around us see what more needs to be done._

_We have the Civil Rights Act, but lets move towards eliminating the hatred from our hearts so that we truly can be an example to the world._

_He who saves a single life saves the whole world. We must not stop looking for how we can save others. We must never give up._

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(Back in AF1 study, President Bartlet continues) "The room did not erupt in violent applause, but I was awestruck at the courage of the young lawyer who had the guts to say this to men to whom he owed his life.

"And so, my dear Joshua, your father was instrumental in pointing out to me that my work was never done. Those who go before you must at some stage pass the baton on. I am sure your father would be proud of the way you've continued his legacy of fighting for the rights of those who can't fight for themselves. And I'm sure he'd want you to continue to fight, to not look back but to look forward and to see what still needs to be done."

"But Sir..."

"No buts... You've got a lot of work to do Joshua. It's your turn now to climb down into the whole and save one life at a time."

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PS- I think I'm going to leave the story here... I hope you enjoyed it.

Historical note 2- Although not a part of West Wing cannon at all, the truth is that many Jewish individuals did get involved in the civil rights movement during the 60's, for many different reasons including those I've touched upon above. I recently read the book: GOING SOUTH – Jewish Women in the Civil Rights Movement (Debra Schultz), which I highly recommend. I haven't used any details from this book within my story, however I was deeply moved and partially inspired by the testimonies within.


End file.
